In the interest of driver comfort within an automotive vehicle, such as a car, it is generally known to provide support to the lumbar region of the back. Lumbar support structures are placed within the lower region of the seat back proximate to where the lumbar region of the driver's back would be located. Lumbar support structures move an area of the seat back forwardly in a direction generally perpendicular to the planar surface of the seat back and against the lumbar region of the driver to support the lumbar region. By supporting the lower vertebral structures of the lumbar region, lumbar support structures support the lower back and provide comfort for drivers, particularly long distance drivers.
There are currently several lumbar support mechanisms available, as evidenced by various issued patents in the art. While currently available lumbar support structures provide some support to the lumbar region, they often simultaneously cause discomfort to the driver. Particularly, many of the currently available lumbar supports utilize unitary structures, such as paddles which are generally hard and rigid and do not provide the necessary amount of flexibility which is necessary for accommodating the weight of the driver, the shape of the back, and any physical movement or shifting which occurs while driving. Consequently, the driver may have better back support, but will generally experience other discomforts. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a comfortable, conforming lumbar support.
Many such available mechanisms utilize large numbers of complicated machine parts which increase the weight and the overall cost of the structures, as well as their tendency to malfunction. Furthermore, many of the available lumbar support mechanisms are difficult to assemble and position within the seat back of a vehicle. The assembly and installation essentially increases the overall cost of utilizing such lumbar support mechanisms in an automobile.
Still further, available lumbar support mechanisms are difficult to adjust, even though they utilize complex mechanical structures for providing such adjustment. As may be appreciated, when a substantial amount of force is necessary for providing the desired adjustment, it will often be difficult, if not impossible, for a person to make such adjustments when they are driving.
Another significant drawback to existing lumbar support mechanisms is the problem of "roll off". Roll off is generally defined in the industry as the increased load in one side of the lumbar mechanism as a seat occupant rotates their torso to one side of the seat or the other. Such roll off is usually not handled very well by the lumbar support mechanism. For example, some lumbar support mechanisms may be permanently skewed with a shifting of their symmetry, because of such roll off. As a result, the lumbar support mechanisms will not provide the uniform, symmetrical support desired. Also, as the result of such roll off, there may be a tendency for the lumbar support mechanism to bind in some way so that it does not return to its proper form when the roll off forces are removed.
Because lumbar support mechanisms utilize a variety of different moving parts as the lumbar support is adjusted, and also when it is loaded, there is a tendency for such moving parts to be noisy. As will be readily understood, a noisy or squeaky seat is undesirable, and is particularly undesirable from the standpoint of an automobile manufacturer whose finished product will appear to be improperly assembled or made of inadequate materials.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a lumbar support mechanism which is lightweight and inexpensive, yet provides suitable comfortable support to a driver.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a lumbar support mechanism which may be readily assembled with a minimum number of parts.
It is a further objective of the present invention to prevent the effects of roll off by resisting such roll off and maintaining symmetrical, conformal support of the lumbar region of the driver.
It is still another embodiment of the invention to provide a quiet and easily adjusted lumbar mechanism which may be interfaced readily with an actuator mechanism without affecting the ultimate seat structure in which the lumbar mechanism is inserted.
These and other objectives will become more readily apparent from the description of the invention set forth herein below.